Dell support << Alienware support

This just happened yesterday. I was pretty bummed out. I won't be able to play any games for at least a week

I was in the middle of playing WoW when my M14x randomly shut off. After about 5 minutes of troubleshooting, I figured out that the blue light on the charger goes out after I plug it into my laptop. It'll only turn back on if I unplug from the wall and re-plug it back in. I also noticed my battery had full charge, but the laptop won't start on just the battery either. It also doesn't start up with just the power adapter.

I Googled "dell support" from my phone and found a number online. The first guy was someone that works for a company Dell contracts. I told him my problem. He had no idea what he was talking about. He tried to make me pay about $150 or $200 for a tech (he called it "engineer") to come out to my house. I said no. He then tried to sell me a software warranty. (? Also, when he put me on hold, he told me to go drink a Coke or Pepsi or go smoke a cig. lol) I told him it's obviously a hardware issue if the computer never even starts up. He connected me to someone that actually works for Dell.

I told the new person about my problem, again. This guy knew a little more than the first guy, but still wasn't helpful. He tried to sell me accidental coverage because he was convinced that a lightning storm set off this. I told him it was sunny outside and that my laptop has always been in a surge protector. He mumbled something and redirected me to the Alienware department. I'd probably been on the phone for over an hour now.

That guy accidentally connected me to Alienware's software department. That person connected me to the hardware department. I repeated my problem. This guy immediately knew what was going on, and set up having a box sent to me so I could mail my laptop in. It took about 10 mins on the phone with him. No need to unplug the battery or anything like that.

Moral of the story - try and directly contact the Alienware department if you're having problems. I could have saved 60-70 minutes. They're really helpful.
My only other problem with my M14x was a low mic volume. This was after I'd had it for about one month. They sent me a brand new one and gave me a week to transfer all my data.
Also, if you're wondering... I've had my laptop for about 7-8 months before my motherboard failed.

 

AW service is great. When my M11X hinge snapped, a tech was at my house within 2 days. Service like this is unmatched.

Glad it finally worked out for you.

Now go grab a pepsi and a cig

 

I had exactly the same problem. they send me techs three times to replace my motherboard, screen, precessor,.... the laptop would give 7 beeps, heat up...... until I mailed the laptop. Now everything is OK. hope doesn't happen again because my warranty is until may 31st

 

I'm betting they just gave up and gave you a new laptop. Maybe even transferred an image of the old HD.

 

nope unfortunately no. thay said that if I have another problem after this they're gone give me a new one. I recognise I have the same laptop because of the same dents and service tag. Anyway I hope I don't have any more problems. I just wanted to say you did a good thing you mailed the laptop because the on site techs are not that good

 

Ive heard a lot of horror stories about the on site techs from this forum and I hope I never have any HW issues. I would MUCH RATHER send it off if so. I just would hate having to wait for them to fix it and send it back. Whats the average turn around time?

 

I think it's about a week to 10 days. I don't remember exatly but I think I got mine about 7 or 8 days. (New Jersey)

 

I actually have Alienware as one of the Favorites in my contacts on my droid

 

When mine was new, and I had a mic problem, they replaced it with ease. Just sent me a new one in the mail! I just told them I was in college, and it'd be hard to send it in and be a week without a laptop. I think if you ever did have a HW issue, you could try to explain that it's your only connection to the outside world, and it would be difficult to live without it for a week or two (depending on location). With an old laptop, they'd prob say no, but it's worth a try!

The person on the phone told me 1-2 days for it to get to the repair facility, 1 day to fix, 1-2 days to get back. 5 total. I'm in AL, and the repair facility is in Huston, TX. They also ship FedEx Air, so in my case, it'll prob be 1 day to get to the facility.

 

Just got off the phone with alienware support about my wrong SSD, I got the 810 (Sata II) instead of the 830 (Sata III)! After alot of explaining they recognised that i did recieve the wrong ssd and told me to check the serial number on the ssd! Eventually they said they will send a technician out to me tomorrow to replace my ssd with the correct one
Glad i didnt have to send it off...
Ill post back here to say how it all went, fingers crossed

 

If you know what you're doing, you can open up the back cover, disconnect the battery, disconnect the CD drive, remove the CD drive, remove the hard drive, disconnect the hard drive, and leave it. When the tech comes, he'll have less to mess up on. Only do so if you're experienced though! Otherwise, you may even be worse than the tech
I personally have had no experience with techs, but others claim that the majority are subpar. Who knows? I don't think my warranty covers in-home repairs anyway. (according to the second guy)

 

The dell technician came and replaced my ssd without a hitch, watched him the whole time and he did a good job ;P
Checked the system info and its now the 830 (sata III speeds) not the 810 (sata II speeds)!
Happy with the service and im now reassured if anything were to go wrong during my 3 year warranty, dells got my back xD